I finally saw why that dig site in my area got shut down

I was reading a local history blog last week and found out a construction crew hit a 1700s burial ground near the old mill. The developer tried to hide it for 3 months before someone tipped off the state. Makes me wonder how many other sites get bulldozed before anyone even gets a chance to document them. Has anyone else run into stuff like this where you live?

2 comments

2 Comments

andrew6461mo ago

Honestly, I gotta push back a little on that "1700s burial ground" part. Most historical records around old mill sites in New England actually date those graves to the late 1600s, not the 1700s. The mill itself was built in 1698, so the burial ground is probably from around the same time or earlier. I get why people say 1700s though, it sounds more modern and easier to remember. But those early colonial sites are way more rare and important than people realize, they get destroyed all the time without anyone knowing. Tbh, developers in my area have done the same thing, just bury the evidence and hope no one finds out for a few years.

taylor_mitchell801mo ago

Reach out to your local historical society or a university archaeology department, @andrew646. I did that a few years back when I found something similar on a family property, and they were thrilled to document it. It ended up saving that land from being sold to a developer.